Renault Twizy, 4200 miles only

[Draigflag]

Selling this on behalf of my bosses Dad. A 2012 renault twizy with just over 4000 miles on the clock in great condition! Takes 2-3 hours to charge, has a top speed of 50 MPH and does about 35-40 miles per charge. Lamborghinni style scissor doors on each side, aftermarket windows are included, but not currently fitted. Monthly battery rental required, ensuring free new battery change when it degrades enough. Awesome fun to drive, turns heads everywhere. Looking for close to £5k, located in North Wales UK.

[LDB]

That's interesting. What's the monthly cost for the battery? Any creature comforts, A/C, heater, radio?

[JockoT]

Going by its past MOTs, the owner up to 2018 didn't make much use of it. Averaged 110 miles/year. As for A/C, it doesn't come with windows!
£5K is a bit rich considering a new one is £6.7K

[Draigflag]

They are very basic, designed for short urban journeys and commuting, no heater, radio, ac etc, just a stop and a go pedal. Battery lease depends on length of contract and mileage, if you take out a one year contract for 4500 miles a year, it works out more expensive at around £55 a month.

[OliverGT]

With the battery lease I think these work out quite expensive.

55 per month for 4500 miles works out about 14.6p per mile, that's if you do all 4500 miles, if you only do 4000 it's 16p per mile. And if you only do 110 miles it's £6.00 per mile!

For comparison, your GTi is running at 16p per mile, now I know that there are servicing costs on top etc, but at least you have some windows!

For me it's the battery lease that kills these, it's like buying petrol that only works for a month, if you don't use it, you have to throw it away.

Can it be converted to a non lease? It least that way, if you don't use it, you don't have to pay.

[Draigflag]

I understand, in a year this thing covered just three miles, so some poor sod ended up paying £200 per mile that year roughly! You feel you have to use it to be worth it. On the flip side imagine buying the battery on a seven year old EV to find it needs replacing a few months down the line. Even a tiny battery like in the twizy is still £2700. I think I've only ever seen two for sale with the battery owned.

[JockoT]

The reason the manufacturers are going away from battery leases is because batteries are not as fragile as were first envisaged. Okay you may buy an old car and the battery fails, but you can buy an old car and the engine or the transmission fails. It is one of the things that can hit buyers of any old car.
What would it cost if your Boxster threw a rod?

[Draigflag]

I think you can buy the battery outright, depends on the age, with the cost falling each year according to this article. It was very popular initially, as many people weren't aware how durable or reliable battery technology was. As you say, now its been proven, I should imagine battery lease popularity is decreasing.

https://pushevs.com/2017/11/24/renau...battery-lease/